Rain
by Cezille07
Summary: AU. Elena and Zick are going to meet for the first time. In the rain...it will be their savior and their downfall...
1. Rain I: Drizzle

**Rain I: Drizzle**

_Cezille07_

Elena can try but she can never resist.

Disclaimer: Again, none of this is mine (the characters, etc.) except for the plot, borne out of boredom and some hell of traffic.

* * *

Someone was in the living room?

"Excuse me, miss."

"Oh my, you must be the owner of this house, I'm so sorry, really terribly sorry!"

Elena stood up from the couch and faced the rather pale boy in front of her. "It's raining hard and I still have some way to walk, and your door was unlocked so I came in. I'm really sorry—"

"It's okay," said the boy. The way he moved reminded her of someone she might have known in a past life. He was...'familiar'. "Um, can I get you something?"

"No, please don't, letting me stay is enough," she replied, trying and succeeding in sounding apologetic. She made to get up, but he stopped her.

"It's okay. I'll get you a drink."

"No, I'm fine. Please don't mind me. I'll just wait for the rain to stop."

"Alright."

It was a sad Friday again; heaven was releasing all its tears upon the unsuspecting earth-bound people.

The boy sat on the couch across her and put two glasses of orange juice on the center table. "I'm Zick. What's your name?"

Elena looked at the juice. "I'm Elena." She shifted her glance out the window again. "It'll stop any moment by now, I'll leave as soon as it does. I had to pick the best time not to bring an umbrella."

"Do you live around here? I can lend you mine."

"Please, please, no thank you, you're too kind."

Zick looked taken aback.

"Sorry, did I say something?"

"No," he said, forcing the words. "It's just that...well, nobody really tells me those things."

Elena looked at him. Closely for the first time since he arrived. "Don't you have a family?"

"Well, they're all dead—my parents left me this big house and I'm all alone except—"

"What?" What suspense! He was more interesting than he was mysterious. She caught the smile that was forming on her lips and said, "I'm sorry, you don't have to."

He took a sip of juice. "It's the first time I've had anyone around except for..." He looked around him nervously and leaned closer. "Sometimes I'm not all alone, really."

"What do you mean?" replied Elena, amused for some reason. Then again, she caught herself before another line. "Oh, I'm really sorry. Call me nosy. I'm not really like this."

Zick looked at her with an interest equalling her own. He smiled. "I think I can trust you."

Elena blushed. What a really interesting person Zick was! They were strangers yet they were almost talking like...like...friends.

"Something wrong?" he asked. "You look pale."

"I..." She gulped and finally took the juice. Something made her want to cry. _I wish I had friends_, she thought, but changed it to, "I remembered something."

"Someone."

"What?"

"Someone," he repeated.

_How did you know?_ She smiled and finished half the juice. "You know what Zick, I also never had a lot of friends."

"Oh, but you're so pretty, it's hard to imagine."

'_Pretty'! Wow, I really like you_, she thought.

He grinned. "Me too."

This time Elena couldn't hide her surprise. "You can read my mind!" she said through a big grin.

"Yes." He got up and put his glass in the kitchen.

The rain was starting to abate.

When Zick returned, Elena got up.

"Thank you for your hospitality."

"You're welcome, Elena."

"Another person might have thrown me out—this is the nicest thing anyone's done for me."

"It's no problem. You can come back anytime."

He always had a weak smile playing on his face, she noticed.

"Um, thanks again. I guess I'll be going now," she said, feeling the press of the awkward moment, the moment he never took his critical eyes off her. He was smiling as he swept her with his gaze, and she melted in it.

"Sure. It was nice to meet you, Elena," he replied. He held the door open for her.

She stepped outside. "Uh, Zick..."

"What?"

The sun was shining steadily. The rain was over. There was no more reason to stay. She had promised only until after the rain. There was no more reason...

"Can I get your number?"

It came out completely wrong.

"Yeah," he replied as he whipped out a cellphone from the front pocket of his jeans. "Here it is."

She wondered why he had a phone if he was all alone and doesn't have friends. Maybe he had the same reason she owned a cellphone: she was waiting for someone to use it with.

"Thanks."

"Okay."

Now this was really it. She didn't want to leave...

She looked away, fought a pleading gaze to reach him. Why did he have to be this kind to her? They were total strangers but, everything felt right about him, about _them_...

"I...don't really want to go," she confessed.

"I know."

"Um, this is really awkward," she whispered to herself. _Why can't I just walk away?_

Thunder struck high above them, following a long flash of lightning. They both looked up at the forbidding sky, which promised to pour down more rain than before.

"You can stay," he offered.

"Huh? I mean, really?" She could simply run before it rained again. It was just a few more blocks. Manners, yes, manners were important. "I can go on now. This'll be okay."

"This'll turn into a storm before long."

He had watched the weather forecast for the whole week. He knew she was coming, somehow.

She looked unconvinced. "I've trespassed into your home and you've been too kind, this is too much."

"I insist."

They looked at each other for another couple of awkward moments.

"Sorry," he said. Now it was his turn for apology.

"Yeah," replied Elena. She tucked a lost strand of flaming orange hair behind her ear.

Silence, once more.

"So, I guess this is it."

"Yeah, Zick. Uh, nice meeting you. Thank you again."

"Okay. Drop by if you can."

Elena grinned._ 'If I can'? Of course I'm coming back. Why would I not go back to this place? This is such a mystery...and so are you._

"Sure. I'll be seeing you again, then. I'll have something to show you," Zick said, that smile playing on his face again.

Elena returned it, and walked away...


	2. Rain II: Storm

**Rain II: Storm**

_Cezille07_

* * *

It had been less than a week?

And now a less than suspicious knock on the door.

"Hi, Elena," he said, holding the door open for his guest.

She nervously entered. "Hi...um, what was your name again? I'm sorry, I can't believe I forgot!"

_Is it that easy for someone to put a friendship behind them?_ Zick thought darkly. He closed the door and proceeded to the kitchen to pour her a helping of orange juice.

Why she wouldn't remember, he didn't know. But there were certainly concrete reasons that she wouldn't really recall. That was a thirty-minute impromptu event. She just happened to get lost that time, and got stranded by a merciless downpour of rain.

But it didn't mean that their thirty minutes of friendship meant nothing.

And now she was here again. And she didn't recall his name.

He had been hoping it meant _something_ for her.

"I'm Zick," he replied, bowing his head a little, as he set her orange juice on the center table. He felt some heave of guilt and anger in his chest for her lack of memory.

She half-smiled. "Sorry. And thanks."

"Why are you here?" he asked, trying and succeeding in sounding casual. He sat on the couch opposite to her. "It's bright and sunny enough for a day at the beach. It's not raining like last time."

"Was that sarcastic?" she replied. She took a generous sip of orange juice. It was the very same glass she had drunken from on her previous visit. This time she didn't need coercion to drink. What if he decided to poison her, to get her drunk? What if he wanted to have her forever?

"No," he lied. This was easier than he imagined. He gave her that smile again. It won her last time. But today? In this sunny weather? Would it all be different?

_No_, he answered himself. It was painful that she couldn't read his thoughts like he could read hers._ Would she remember what I promised her? But of course not. She didn't even remember my name._

_Maybe this is why people go mad because of solitude. I need to go out more._

"What?" Elena said.

"What do you mean 'what'?"

"I mean..." she began, fumbling for words. For explanations. Anything for this awkward moment.

_You didn't use to care that it was always awkward between us._

She sighed. "I mean, what was...?" She shook her head. "Sorry. Never mind."

Why did they have to be so different? Why did they have to be so distant?

_If I show her what I promised we might have something to start with._

"I have something to show you, remember? I told you last time, if you come by again," he declared half-heartedly.

Elena looked at him, her face full of concern. "There's something wrong, isn't there?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean..." she began. "I can't explain. It's just different. There's something different."

"Oh, is that so?" he replied, nearly coldly.

What was there left to say? Their last hope of small talk was in his promise. But he can't now. She...betrayed him. He thought she was his friend. That was such an elusive title to acquire, and an even more elusive title to award someone with. _I thought...._

"What?" Elena asked, looking startled. "Did you say something?"

Finally, he couldn't fight back the urge to yell, "No. Why are you wasting your time here? Don't you have something important to mind? Isn't that why you visited Old Mill during this short vacation you have in your senior year in college?"

"How...how did you know that?"

"How did you hear _my thoughts_?"

"Your...thoughts?"

"Like I can always hear yours. Like reading a book."

"You're...you're crazy!" Elena said, frightened. She stood up and headed for the door.

He blocked her way. "Fine, call me crazy, and selfish, and whatever you want! But I trusted you! You were my only hope!"

"Why are you doing this?"

"It's because I've always been alone, I've been alone for too long. I need someone...."

"Don't come any closer! Don't...please..." Elena begged. She looked at the window. Hope? Perhaps.

"I have a promise to you!"

"Please, let me out."

"Will you remember me after you leave?"

"Certainly! You look like you're about to murder me!"

"I won't," he said. He opened the door and pulled her out. "I won't Elena, I will never hurt you..."

"Then why are you doing this?!"

He looked into her questioning eyes. "Is it wrong to finally feel love?"

Elena looked like she was ready to faint. "We just met, Zick."

Overhead, clouds gathered released bolts of lightning randomly. Thunder struck.

It was a storm.

"I trusted you."

"Why?! You shouldn't have. I broke into your house, remember?"

"I remember. Why didn't you recall my name?"

"You're angry because of that? Please, this is really crazy."

"I know I am." He offered a pleading gaze at her beautiful face. "I love you."

She was ready to faint.

"You can't leave now. It's raining again. It'll be like this the whole week," Zick added unsurely. "And...I have something to show you."

Elena looked like she had a boxful of arguments, about the rain, about his promise, but she remained wordless for another minute.

"No one has known or will know before or after you," Zick added, now more animated. "This'll be a big secret between us."

Elena feared getting hurt, from the look in his eyes. He was on to something. "Um, I think I better leave."

"I won't hurt you," he offered, "It's just that I have to tell someone. I've been keeping it for too long. Come on. I want to tell you," he finished with a grin.

"What...what is it about?"

Zick smiled again, more mysteriously than ever. "I will let you go after this, but you might change your mind. I said earlier that I have no family...but I'm not really alone." Elena nodded uncertainly and let him continue. "I'll show you my companions—but they're not...what you think."

If anything, this sparked her interest. "What do you mean?"

"I do have a few housemates in here you may want to meet, if you think you were alone."

"I wasn't?"

"No."

Before she could protest (to him, and, with more difficulty, to herself) he led her back inside the house and closed the door behind them.

It was just moments later when...

A female scream was heard. "What on earth is a Keeper?!"

"I am a Keeper."

"You watch over these...monsters?"

"They're not bad. On the other hand, you are a Tamer."

"What on earth is a Tamer, then?!"

"Someone like you, with special powers that can overcome any monster."

"Oh my God!"

"You have powers not because you were cursed or unlucky. You were chosen because you are special."

"I don't believe you."

"I think you're special. Don't you trust me?"

"Barely."

"I thought you came back for me."

"No."

"Then this is really it?"

"Yes, Zick, goodbye!" she yelled. She bolted for the door and ran away as fast as she could.


	3. Rain III: Fair Weather

**Rain III: Fair Weather**

_Cezille07_

What if they finally decide they love each other after all?

* * *

It was over?

He couldn't believe he did what he did. He frightened her, and now she was gone. Maybe forever, this time. Forever. What a harsh word!

Why did he have to be that reckless? That selfish? That...that....

He spotted the big knife in the sink. He had used it to squeeze out fresh orange juice for her.

If he used it to squeeze out his blood?

Would it matter?

Would anyone care?

Not even Elena would. After what he did to her. He was just trying to open his world to her. Like his mother always said.

"But not in that way. Of course she'd be scared, scared out of her wits! Can you imagine? You just met her. She might have known you to be interesting, but then you tell her about being a Tamer. It's not easy to take in, honey," her ghost said, appearing beside him.

"I don't understand. I feel so betrayed."

"Give her time. She'll come back and stay on her own." Greta smiled gently.

Would she, really?

He scared away the only person who would have been friends with him, forever.

"It's unfair."

"You're just twenty years old. There's a lot of time to find friends before you die."

"Thanks a lot; _that_ helped. You're...you're dead already. You have all eternity to do what you want."

"It's not like that. You'll see, things will turn out great."

He looked at his father's ghost.

"Don't look at me. I don't know about you, but I'm very happy with what I've got. Your mom, here," Zob said, and kissed Greta's lips.

She laughed. "Honey, this is not the best time. We have to help our son...."

"He's old enough to do things by himself—"

"I've too many things by myself! I need someone!" Zick blurted out. "I need someone to be with me. Like...you guys. You always have each other.... I wish I had a friend."

"Don't worry, it'll come. Just wait for it," said Theo, appearing beside his daughter's ghost. And his wife Tessa followed, her faded image resting in Theo's embrace.

"But see, you're all happy, how can you understand?!"

* * *

Elsewhere, in a bus bound for the far side of Big Burg....

"I can't believe I went back for that...that...." Elena didn't want to remember his name. The rain had just stopped, thankfully. She blinked back angry tears as she looked out the bus window.

For the first time she noticed something that wasn't there the first time she got here.

Some...weird creatures were moving _above_ the city, on suspended walkways and little pods between high buildings.

"What are these?" she asked herself. Some part of her knew it was just the monsters, pretty much similar to the bunch Zick introduced to her at his house. Some fat red ones, some that fell apart, some spheres that attempted (and tragically failed) at choral singing, some gelatinous blobs, some short, funny-looking creatures that wore doctors' robes, some that resembled clowns....

But she wasn't scared.

She had almost...felt nothing.

Suddenly, a little sphere flew in through the open window a couple of rows in front of her. It sang its heart out and nearly deafened her.

She...called it. "Hey little guy," she said, beckoning it toward her. Shyly, it drifted into her palm, and they looked at each other for several minutes.

"Hey lady, what's that?" asked a male voice. It was the conductor.

Obviously he didn't see the Bursty.

"Um, nothing. Sorry. How much to the train station?" she replied.

"Half a dollar, please."

She gave the required amount, and once the conductor was out of sight and earshot she resumed admiring the little...'monster' in her hands.

But it was gone.

Little remnants of its tiny body were floating above her hand, and slowly, it came back together and reformed.

"Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep!" it sang in a high-pitched voice.

"Shhh! Keep it down!" she said worriedly. Now, they can't possibly NOT hear this. The little creature didn't stop. "**Stop moving...and keep quiet!**"

It suddenly fell rigid in her hand and bounced off to the floor, bursting into pieces as it touched the ground. Later on it collected its pieces, reformed and flew out of the window.

She followed it with her gaze as it joined masses of other Bursties, masses of other monsters.

She was a Tamer....

A Tamer....

What does it mean?

If she had been a Tamer all her life, why hadn't she—or anyone at all for that matter—notice? Why hadn't there been any 'symptoms'? And why did it all switch on when she was there?

Zick would certainly have answers, but she was _never_ coming back there.

Soon enough, it was her stop. She got off the bus and found the entrance to the subway.

She looked behind her, to where she had come from, and knew that somewhere in the distance lay that little village called Old Mill, and the first inhabitant she first met that was...Zick. Now she didn't want to think about it again. But it was the last time, it made no difference whether or not she did remember.

Just then the rain recommenced its merciless reign. Her umbrella was stuck in her bag somewhere, and she couldn't pull it out. The rain was getting stronger by the minute. She looked around her. Lucky for the people who knew.

She remembered...Zick knew. He told her it would be like this all week.

Now she had to thank him, somehow. Or not. He had scared the wits out of her. Monsters, Tamers, Keepers—what the heck?! She was thinking about this, and she can't. She mustn't.

Her umbrella was stuck badly. Why she had to pack her things so hurriedly need not be explained.

It wouldn't come out. Elena looked around. She ran toward the subway entrance...

And slipped.

Her ankle twisted badly, she half-crawled to the nearest melon stand, the fat owner glad to share his large beach umbrella.

The rain didn't ease out until five hours later. Its companion, gales and thunder, were unrelenting. The most of the people slowly faded into boutiques, umbrellas being the doors' main adornment.

But Elena was under a melon stand umbrella.

Thank God Zick found her.

"Elena!"

She almost didn't hear, almost didn't recognize the pale boy in an old, rusty car. "Zick!"

"Get in, it's pouring! Why are you out there?" he said. She merely looked back at him through the passenger's seat window, her expression unfathomable. "Please, Elena! I won't do anything this time, promise."

She looked unconvinced. But thunder struck high above them, and she was forced to resign.

She got in with little difficulty, locked the lock and strapped the seat belt. "I'll leave after the storm dies down." She looked in his eyes straight. "This is the last time you're getting near me. And this time, I mean it."

Zick said nothing.

* * *

They were back in his house in a quarter hour.

Elena had fallen asleep.

"Hey, Elena," he said, nudging her. "We're here." He got out, readied his umbrella and opened the door for her. He nudged her again. "Elena?"

Her face was red and hot.

"Elena?" he said, panic in his voice. He felt her. Something was wrong. Her clothes were drenched, her hair dripping wet, and she had a high fever.

Damn!

"Elena?" he said again, lifting her and running into the house.

"Mom! Dad! Something's up with Elena!" he called after he put Elena down on the couch and ran to the kitchen to fetch a towel. His parents appeared in the living room.

"It's her temperature, right? Get a thermometer and see how bad it is," said Greta. Zob's arm never left her waist.

"Right, right!" he replied, the panic rising. He nearly dropped their only thermometer in more than ten years. "Okay."

She was a hundred five degrees Fahrenheit.

"Oh God, I'm going to die!" Zick exclaimed, falling to his knees beside the couch.

"No, honey. Just take care of her, she'll be fine," Zob told him.

"She said she never wanted to come near me after this...."

"Prove her wrong about you."

He fought back rebellious tears and put away the thermometer.

"Find her something dry. Look in my things," his mother suggested.

He fumbled around his mother's old clothes for a set that might fit Elena. He emerged with one of her more comfortable house clothes.

"But how am I going to dress her?! She's a girl and...."

"When she wakes up. She has to. And you're going to help her."

"What? No! No, no, no!" he said hotly. He looked at both of them. "She doesn't trust me."

His parents looked at him.

"Whatever you say, I'm not crossing that line...."

"What line are you talking about? You're just going to help her."

"Please, don't make me do this!"

"What are you so afraid of?"

He looked at Elena. "I don't know. I don't want her to hate me. If I do what you say, she might think...."

"Stop worrying, Zick." Theo came into the room and had a look at Elena. "What'll she think? 'You're really nice to help me like that. You even saved me from the rain...again.' "

Finally, Elena came to.

"Elena!" He couldn't help but blush terribly in front of her.

* * *

Five faces looked down on her when she opened her eyes. The four ghosts disappeared.

It was freezing cold.

She sat up.

"Elena," Zick said—shyly? He handed her the clothes. "Um, put these on. They were my mom's."

She took them and got up. "Uh, where's the bathroom?" she asked weakly.

He noticed that and looked away. "The second door after the stairs."

She returned with her wet clothes in hand and practiced enough control only to get to the couch. "Thanks."

"For...for what?!" he asked.

What was that in his voice? It had been there all this time since they met back at the melon stand. Panic.

"Hey Zick," she began. She didn't really know what to say. The silence was unbearable. She shifted position. Sat up straight.

"Yeah?"

_Now what? Thank you? For letting me stay? After how I treated him?_ It was just about the right time to say it: "I can't take it anymore. I'm really sorry about how I behaved earlier. I was overreacting. I shouldn't have yelled and said those things. You've just saved me again from the rain."

"It's alright. That was nothing." _If it means I can keep you._

"Keep me?"

Zick gulped. "Sorry."

Elena smiled to herself. _This is insane...but I like it._ "Anyway, Zick..." She suddenly liked the thought of having to speak his name. Hmm, what if she tried?

_Thank you so much, Zick,_ she thought.

And she heard a thought—it wasn't hers: _That means a lot to me, Elena. I'm glad you're not angry at me anymore. _

* * *

Another silent hour elapsed.

Elena just awoke from another nap.

A semi-wet towel was on her forehead, and her injured ankle was neatly bandaged.

She sat up. "Zick?" she called. There was no reply for some moments. "Thanks," she whispered into the air.

She knew that 'they' were watching her. Listening to her.

She shifted position, her back to the armrest.

Then something cut her finger.

After some inspection, there appeared to be a very old and yellowing photograph. Old as it was, the paper was crisp and the image, quite clear.

Now she really had to call Zick.

"What is it? Do you need anything?" he asked, entering the room. He could have found her a more comfortable sleeping place than that, he thought guiltily. He spotted what she was holding. "What's that?"

"Look at it," she said carefully.

He sat beside her cautiously and took the picture. "What is this?"

Elena didn't want to believe herself for what she was about to say. She gulped, avoided looking at Zick for as long as possible, and told him, "That's...us!"

* * *

"Impossible!" Zick gave a sort of gasp mixed with speech.

"No, look, that's you and me, right there, only, it's in the nineteenth century," Elena said, "See? Those are 1800's clothes. And the background. That's what I was just researching a few days ago!"

It was them, in front of the very house they were now in, only it seemed to be an older model, and their clothes, according to Elena, belonged just to that era. Elena was waving at the viewer; Zick's right arm was around her waist and his left hand held a sealed jar.

And true enough, it was Old Mill, somewhere above the valley overlooking the whole neighborhood. Everywhere unoccupied by inhabitants, lush trees were allowed to flourish, towering over the dwellers. Signs that the community was growing lay scattered everywhere: modest houses made of stone randomly distributed throughout the terrain, a tiny school somewhere in the center, small-scale business-centers almost unnoticed, the Old Mill Restaurant its earliest and most familiar landmark.

Elena suddenly visualized a life right in that picture...

...With Zick.

It was a pretty good fantasy too.

"This is really weird," he breathed.

"Well, that should sound just about unconvincing, knowing who you are," Elena joked.

He smiled at her. "That was anyone's first joke at me in years."

"Don't exaggerate—"

"I'm not." He gave her back the picture. "Anyhow, I think it's real."

She steered her glance at the picture. "What does it mean, then?"

"This was a past life."

"Centuries ago...."

"Maybe more, we're not sure."

Elena stared on. "I don't care. We're here now. Does it make a difference if we knew each other back then, in this alleged 'past life'?"

Zick gave her a patient, resigned look. "It does to me."

_It explains why you chose this house out of the many others just like it. It explains why I always feel like you're so special. It surely explains that we had a past together, and it might mean we can also have a future._

"Hey, I like what you're thinking," said Elena.

"Oh yeah, you're a Tamer. You can see inside people just like that."

She leaned her head on his shoulder. He almost squirmed at her touch, but controlled himself enough to just...smile.

She was no longer feverish.

"You saved my life twice."

"I think you've done that for me many times, long ago."

"How do you know?"

Zick pointed to the picture. "I was the Tamer. See the Taming jar? I did all the dirty work."

"Well, that doesn't say anything."

"It says I'm alive because you were there."

Elena nearly laughed in delight. "I like it. I like the idea. A past life, adventures...."

"Just hours ago you were screaming your lungs out for me to stay away."

"That was hours ago."

Zick chuckled. "We must have always bickered like this back then."

His arm found its way around her waist again.

"I like this," Elena repeated softly.

"You keep saying that now."

"Alright, I'll rephrase—I love you."


	4. Rain IV: My Last Rainbow

**Rain IV: My Last Rainbow**

_Cezille07_

I tried not being too radical with the plot but this is what came out. Oh well. (Thanks to ice suzaku for recommending I append 4 and 5. :) )

* * *

How is he?

The last she had heard about him was a full month ago. Thinking about it that way made it seem petty and nearly worthless. What was he to her that she had to worry so much?

Did she have the right to even think about him? They weren't exactly friends, seeing the way they left things. He dropped a heavy bombshell by saying she was a...a...a 'Tamer'. Naturally she was scared out of her wits with the term, and backed farther when she realized everything he said was real. The suspended city....

And then there was that picture. The picture. Stupid picture! Why were cameras invented? If that square patch of paper bearing their past images never existed, their link would have been easier to dissolve, easier to forget. But it was proof! Proof that...that really strange things occur, and out of faith you just believe in them. Out of faith. And out of a childish whim to find friendship in that abandoned little village.

But in the end, she had a bigger bombshell—or maybe not. It wasn't a shock if it didn't mean anything to him. So the question was, did it? Could her "I love you" possibly have meant something deeper to him than just a phrase she simply blurted out because of the spur of the moment?

The last time she ever concentrated on something this hard was her first research paper ever, back in her junior year. That darn thing, she failed it drastically, and to make up for it, her mother had her clean up the entire house every week—garage, toilets, bedrooms, and darn, the playroom. Her younger siblings were always making a warzone out of it, those trouble-making twins.

But looking back, it was easier than this.

Why did it have to rain so hard again?

Every time it rained, she remembered that fated moment they met. The moment they first held eye contact. The moment she took his offering of orange juice. The moment they weren't scared anymore of each other. The moment they thought they could be friends.

Argh, friends! If she had some, she wouldn't need to be thinking about this every fine, rainy day.

* * *

It was only natural to be cheerless on such a day.

He had to teach himself not to be so focused on "what I want!" and "what I need!" all the time. The world is about seven billion people interacting with each other, making friends and forming bonds that would last them a lifetime.

That wasn't his world.

Locked inside a gloomy house with creatures only he can see. And being taunted by children and peers for it.

That was his world.

What he'd give to be part of theirs.

Being normal was something he had always wanted. Television was enough to introduce him to such a carefree, others-oriented existence. He wanted to find any job, any boring job, in any place on Earth, to find companionship, or just actualization, just a meaning for his being here alive. They did always say you're here for a purpose.

Bah! Purpose was for lucky people who had dummies following their every command.

Hmm, he had a bunch of them right here. Under his watch. He was a Keeper, after all. Well, Tamers get all the luck.

But that wasn't it.

It really wouldn't change anything either.

"Wait a minute!" he had to yell. It was useless to think of something, hope on it, pray day and night for it, if it does nothing.

So why did it have to rain so hard?

Every time it rained, he would remember her beautiful, nearly perfect, figure. And she had a wonderful life too. In a good school. In a good course. With a good family, and maybe a few friends.

And he had no one.

* * *

"At last," she whispered. She let go of the throw pillow she'd been hugging for the duration of the rain. All that time, that whole two and a half hours, she was thinking it was possible for another miracle to take place. The rain was mesmerizing to watch, and maybe if she stared at it long enough something strange and equally wonderful would happen.

And now it was over.

Time to go back to the real world.

Which, it must be said, wasn't her world anyway.

Didn't it feel like she belong somewhere else? Because here seemed so normal, so empty.

But it was no use to be thinking such thoughts. There were other things. For one, her project was nearly done. The deadline was within the next week. All she had to do left is to format everything she found out the past month with her research.

Her research about the past of Old Mill.

Which turned out to be her past as well.

Why that place? Why that exact period?

Something certainly gave it a rustic, homey feel.

Is that why she was so attracted to it in the first place? Or because something in her, something of a memory from...a past life...just pulled?

"Enough!"

She looked at the mirror. "You had better stop drifting into your fantasy world, Elena."

'Fantasy' sounded wrong. Was it because it's real? It _is_ real! It is.

"Seriously, get over it!" she thought angrily. And she gave herself a light slap. "It's over! It's a past, it's gone!"

But why wouldn't she believe herself? For sure, she was the only one thinking about it. But! There's always a 'but'! But maybe he did too. That 'but'. She blamed it on her lack of attention. If she had any, she wouldn't bother a bit about that little experience.

Sure. The word 'experience' was certainly right.

And she found herself hoping it did mean something after all for him, that out of the blue he'd find her and do something, anything. Anything, really. What did friends do together? If she had any she'd know.

* * *

It was then her cellphone vibrated.

"Mom. I'm sure it's you. You don't have to remind me about my chores," she thought, ignoring it. She set her focus on the computer and began typing down the information she painstakingly wrote by hand. Why hadn't she thought about photocopying the pages and using an image-to-text converting software? That was entirely stupid. She would have saved herself a hell lot of time and she might be doing something else.

Like thinking about Zick, for one.

The cellphone didn't stop.

"Alright, let's have a look."

Oh, and what an interesting entry. It wasn't registered.

However, she had this sort of gut-feel. It was familiar. Why on earth had she deleted Zick's number right after she left Old Mill? That was stupid too. Her only hope of friendship erased from her phonebook. Could it be him? First of all, why? But then again, why not?

Well, she might as well try answering it.

"Hello?"

* * *

Her voice sounded unnaturally soft. Softer than he remembered. She was more assertive than this, except when she was refusing to stay in his house when the storm was pounding. Whatever. He didn't care; it was so lucky he had her number.

"Okay, that's enough," he thought. But naturally he couldn't hit the red button to end the call.

"Hey, Elena," he began.

"Oh my gosh, it's you!"

"Yeah."

"So what's up?"

"Um, the ceiling?"

She laughed. It was genuine. How could anyone laugh at a corny joke like that? Unless she...oh why would he matter to her...as much as she mattered to him?

"What are you doing?" he asked uncertainly.

"The project I was working on. It's nearly done."

"Your research?"

Duh, of course he knew. But he didn't want to frighten her the way he did when he revealed he could read her mind.

"Yes." She said in a tone less grave than he expected. It made him think she could be reading _his_ mind. "What about you?"

Would he tell her the truth? She made him so nervous....

"Zick? Are you there?"

He felt a chill run down his spine. He loved the way she said his name. The way it sounded when she formed the word.

"Yeah, sorry."

Elena sighed. "So, why'd you call?"

_Here it is.... _"I wanted to talk to you." He didn't think it would come out that easily. He was sure she'd heard enough apologies, or enough secrets. It was time to know the truth.

* * *

"About what?"

Now that was more difficult.

The red button was waiting.

"Hello?"

But she was waiting too. If she answered the call, there must be _something_.... "Actually, nothing. I just—" No! Would he dare tell her? He had scared her too much already. He didn't want that anymore. And it's been a month overdue.

"Elena," he began again. He wanted to read her mind, but she was too far away. And anyway, he would never do that anymore. Now, what to say?

"Zick?"

Elena was still there. _What are you doing? Why are you there? Why don't you hang up?_

It suddenly occurred to him that she was a Tamer, and she was more powerful than him, that she could possibly know what he was thinking from this far away. _Do you?_

* * *

"I'm still here."

She heard his voice cracking; the attempt to hide it only made it more obvious. _What was that?_ But if she dared ask, she might be sucked back into that world, and never be able to get out.

On the other hand, everything seemed to be pointing to that direction.

"Are you okay?"

_I thought you'd never want to know, Elena...._

Wait, that wasn't her thought!

"Yeah." _I am now._

In that moment, there was nothing else but the sound of his voice, and his image in her head. It flooded her entire being—everything else was a blur.

"Elena?"

She didn't reply. The cellphone fell in a thud on the floor.


	5. Rain V: A Last Ray of Sunshine

**Rain V: The Last Ray of Sunshine**

_Cezille07_

So, what happened? Read on to find out!

* * *

_You're my last rainbow, my last ray of sunshine, the last thread of hope in my life...._

"Elena? Elena?!" he called.

Nothing: aside from heavily suppressed breathing, and blowing curtains from her window which must have been left open, nothing.

A blob of gelatine entered his door. "Why the screaming? This time of afternoon is best for a siesta, everyone's having a nap," said Ben Talak.

"Elena!" he said through tearful eyes.

_You're my last rainbow, my last ray of sunshine, the last thread of hope in my life...._

"What's that?!"

"Don't ask me. You're the Keeper." He shrugged, picked up a book from Zick's bedside table and left without another word.

"What's that?" Zick asked empty air. "Elena?"

_You're my last rainbow, my last ray of sunshine, the last thread of hope in my life...._

It suddenly dawned on him.

Her thoughts.

Were flowing.

Flowing so fast, like this?

_You're my last rainbow, my last ray of sunshine, the last thread of hope in my life...._

"Elena!" he cried.

"My last rainbow...." came a whisper. "You're my last rainbow."

"Elena? Last...last rainbow? What...what do you mean? What are you trying to say?"

"Zick...." she moaned, apparently in pain.

"Yes, I'm here!"

"I need...you."

"What's happening there?!"

Labored breathing. "I can't move. I can't...."

"What's happening?!"

"I was watching the rain...."

* * *

Shapes drifted before her eyes. Pain shot through her body in rhythmic surges.

She let out a scream.

"Elena!" she heard Zick yelling from that distance. "Elena!"

The phone was just out of reach. If she could move—

What would she do?

_What's happening to me?_

_You're my last rainbow, my last ray of sunshine, the last thread of hope in my life...._

That wasn't her thought either, but the mental voice was...her own.

_My last rainbow is...you._

If there was just one truth in the world, it was that her past was so linked with his there was no denying it. It was so intertwined, so close she would die trying to break it.

_My last rainbow...is...you._

_I get it now! It's right...._

In one heave of motion, she stretched her arm and grabbed the phone.

* * *

They died at the same moment.

Elena had heart failure for several reasons, including stress and rupture of several major arteries. They labelled it that way not knowing Tamers have more Energy to live, and overworks the heart at times in cases they don't exercise or manage their physical bodies.

Zick presented a more complex case.

He...just...left.

There was just one factor they could blame, but even that seemed impossible. Destiny. They had been made for something which didn't happen. And Destiny wouldn't have it happen that way.

_If there was just one truth in the world, it was that their pasts were so linked there was no denying it. It was so intertwined, so close they would die trying to break it._

_You're my last rainbow, my last ray of sunshine, the last thread of hope in my life...._

_And with you I will die in peace, forever. _

* * *

"But why? I wasn't breaking away. The more I heard your voice, the more I wanted to see you again. I didn't think it was sane for me to think about it all the time. You left your mark on me. But I wear it proud. I am a Tamer."

"But why? I wasn't breaking away either. I know it was wrong and selfish of me to tell you just like that. It was a big deal. And...you could have left me and never came back. I just sort of always hoped you would. But I'm glad I did anyway, because I knew who you are. And you are the one person who would be my friend for eternity."

"Do you ever wonder why we always think of each other?"

"I know now, Elena. It's because we've never had any friends. It was all we needed. Why did we have to look far and wide when the answer was right there?"

_All has been said. _

_So be it. _

_Then from this day forward, in the world of the living you shall cease to live, and in the world of the afterlife you shall begin a bonded life, bound for ever by your earthly link, past and present, and your mutual love. _

_Zick and Elena, you were soul mates in Heaven, long before you were first born. And the reason souls travel to Earth is to find each other again. _

_You failed twice. The first time because of jealousy. The second because you gave too much. _

_So remember this. _

_You have one last chance to redeem yourself, before you enter Heaven once more. _

_Go back to Earth. _

_Find your other half. _

_Complete the bond. _

_And when the rain stops, you shall find your Last Rainbow in each other. _


	6. Rain VI: The Last Thread of Hope

**Rain VI: The Last Thread of Hope  
**

_Cezille07_

After meeting with destiny....

* * *

"Where am I?"

It had happened so quickly she couldn't recall exactly what took place. There had been an instant of pain, a flash of white light, and a long tunnel headed into the heart of eternity. There was a calm, low voice that talked to her, to them, and everything she went through vanished in those moments. She saw him with her.

And then she was here again.

In a familiar place in Old Mill.

"Zick? Where are you?"

She got up. She didn't recall being here anytime recently.

So why here?

All of a sudden, there was a faded figure of a young woman.

"Hello, Elena," she said.

"You're his mother!" Elena cried, recognizing the face that looked upon her when she was ill. "Where is Zick? What happened?"

"We don't know for sure, but we knew it was something like this."

Zob appeared beside Greta, and kissed her cheek. "Oh hi, Elena."

"Something like what?" Elena pressed.

Greta wore an understanding smile. "She doesn't know yet. She has barely seen the real world for what it is."

"What are you talking about?"

Zob freed his arm to lecture. "You see, things aren't really what they look like. You've seen Bibbur-si, haven't you?"

"What? 'Bibbur-si'?"

"The Suspended City. Monsters of all kinds live there, except Tamers, of course, which were banished for using their powers improperly."

"But I'm a Tamer. Does...does that mean...I-I'm a...?"

"Yes."

Well. She had almost thought she'd like it.

"Well, for most, they live a life hidden away—"

"My parents never mentioned a thing." She never seriously thought about them hiding something from her. Or maybe the fact was _they_ didn't know.

"That's odd. Tamers form long generations of great powerful warriors, or defenders. That's what they did before they were sentenced to the human world."

"They never mentioned anything." _At least here's some good explanation._ "So, what happened to us just now?"

The 'us' had a nice warm ring to it.

"You and Zick died."

* * *

"I've had enough! I'll ask one last time! Is anyone here?!"

As expected, there was no one to answer.

He'd been trying to get out of the foreign little place he had never seen before. It was pink all over, feminine laces hanging everywhere, a couple of snapshots on the bedside table, a study table near the window, a small sofa in the space in the middle of the room, warm carpet on the floor. A fat cat lay sleeping under the bed. The door, painted pink and nearly covered in rock band posters, was locked.

"Where am I?"

He drifted over the carpet. He didn't feel the wood against his fingers or the curtain against his face when he peered outside the window. The mirror showed no reflection.

"Where am I?!"

He pounded the sill in frustration, but felt no impact.

"What's happened to me?!"

He only remembered the brief encounter with some otherworldly being whose gentle voice eased every pain he had been through. He met Elena there—but where exactly was 'there'?

He fell on a heap to the floor, trying to make sense of everything that just transpired.

And suddenly the door opened.

"Hey, who are you?" asked a young voice.

Zick looked at the little boy, and behind him was a girl about his age as well.

"You're a ghost, right?" the little boy asked.

"A…a ghost?"

The girl laughed. "Of course! But it's not Halloween yet, and we don't have any candy."

A door opened from downstairs.

"Elena! We're home! Where are you?" called an elder male voice. "Charlie? Violet?"

_Elena? I'm in her house?_

"So, Mr. Ghost, can you show us how to pass through walls?"

Zick looked at their innocent faces. They weren't lying.

So where was Elena?

"Your parents are here, go meet them. But don't talk about happened, okay? Don't tell them you saw me. Can you promise that?" he asked earnestly.

"Okay," they said in unison, bouncing down the stairs.

_Elena? Where are you? What happened? And what am I doing here?_

He gave a sigh, half in wonder but half in relief. At least he was still real. They saw him, right?

* * *

"So I'm dead? How did it happen? Can I do something?"

Elena's face was frantic but Zob merely chuckled at her. "It's not all bad. The fact that you're here means you have a chance to change things," he said, assuring her. "Try to remember what happened before this."

"I was talking to Zick on the phone—"

"I mean in the afterlife, _after_ you died."

"Oh," she replied.

The pain. And there was a mental outburst—in her voice, though she wasn't thinking anything, at least not voluntarily. What were the words....

_You're my last rainbow, my last ray of sunshine, the last thread of hope in my life...._

Maybe that was it. At that moment, when the thought came, she knew she was going to die, when she realized, _My last rainbow is...you._

What did those words mean anyway? Those words, in that precise order, made no sense.

She was still wondering when there was a blast of white light, and she was engulfed in it, but she felt no pain or resistance. The light was good. And the light urged her to speak.

_If there was just one truth in the world, it was that your pasts are so linked there is no denying it. It is so intertwined, so close you have died trying to break it._

She replied hastily, unsurely, yet her answer was so...real. Real to her. Part of her. Something she had known all along, her whole life. Maybe even from the past life she tried to run away from.

Then that means she lied to Destiny? "I wasn't trying to break away," she said. And then she heard his voice. He was speaking with Destiny, but he was talking to her. Ohh and he accepted her, and wanted her acceptance.

Then Destiny told them, "Go back to Earth. Find your other half. Complete the bond. And when the rain stops, you shall find your Last Rainbow in each other."

What on earth did that mean? What was with the last rainbow, the ray of sunshine, and the last thread of hope?! Or is it just...the way it is? No other meanings, it says what it means.

And 'when the rain stops'—wait, it has already stopped! It just stopped when she died!


	7. Rain VII: It Could All Be A Bad Dream

**Rain VI: It Could All Be a Bad Dream**

_Cezille07_

I think this is the ending. I _think_. Because I used to say part 3 was the last, until I got carried away and added more. But this time I mean it. You'll see the words "The End" after this chapter, and I won't add any more drama to this overcomplicated plot of mine.

* * *

It was all too clever! He watched the boy and girl run around in circles to make sense of what had just occurred.

When the rain stops, you'll find your Last Rainbow in each other. As if that meant anything! And it really didn't. It was just a clever plan, a few clever tricks, and one clever trickster behind all that.

Magnacat smiled from his comfortable chair, and placed his hands on the table. "Now it's about time they find out this is no ordinary nightmare."

What he couldn't understand, though, was why they bothered. They liked their story now. The past life, the Tamer-Keeper things, their intricate relation spawned by the rain. But his interesting game was about to end. He _could_ find out before he ended them too.

And here is the ending.

* * *

Someone called them?

"Elena!"

"Zick!"

But it was a new voice. Someone they had never heard of, except perhaps in a dream.

Both turned to the sound of the voice, Zick to the window, and Elena to the front door. They stared at their respective boundaries, the same wondering looks on their faces. Charlie and Violet returned to the pink room, and the four ghosts of Zick's family appeared by the doorway. All of them, wondering. What is he looking at? What is she looking at?

Magnacat spoke again. "The last thread of hope in your life is this." He waited for a response. He read in their minds, "This voice is Destiny". Destiny didn't exist, he wanted to yell, but his part was coming on so well. "You have fallen in love with a fake reality."

"What?" was their unified question.

They had clung so easily to the fact that the rain was coincidence, they were related because of a past life, and that their death was a mystery to be solved by their friendship somehow. Those were disgusting aspirations. Life would be lucky if it noticed them at all. Both of them were lonely souls wandering the earth for a purpose to their accidental lives. His plan had just inspired them too much.

"Now it's time to wake up and surrender your powers to me."

He had proven, after a painstakingly long observation, that she was a Tamer. Her powers are necessary to his new plans to conquer the city she only regarded as weird. Zick's Sight would help grant his human victims the greater mental torture. Seeing things they have long discarded as fantasy. Monsters, being real. A monster killing them. A monster taking over the greatest Suspended City in the world!

Elena was quick to protest. "I know I'm a Tamer! And whatever you are, I can fight you!"

And Zick was quick to answer, "Elena and I can take you on, monster!"

If they could hear how ridiculous the other sounded! Magnacat laughed. "I let you have this beautiful vision. Let me have what you owe me for it, your powers. And I shall return you to your lives before this, before any of what you call this insanity."

Zick blinked. Would he want to go back to his dreary life before Elena? She was the person to add whatever color there was to his bland idea of living. Did Elena think of him the same way? Or was he just the stranger that helped her in the rain?

Elena looked back at the large house that made her realize she was a part of the world. She was big, she had a meaning. She was a Tamer. She could command. She.... She knew she was a friend to someone. Someone she almost threw away because of her rigid beliefs about the world. Did Zick remember her right then? Did he think she was special? It was her fault they both got into this mess. So was it alright for her to forget about him?

"No!" was their unified answer.

"Hmph," Magnacat grunted, "but you realize I hadn't actually given any options."

* * *

Elena got up from bed and rubbed her eyes. They way she was sweating, she knew she was having some kind of dream, but she couldn't remember what it was. She looked at her watch. It was morning. A sad Friday morning when heaven was releasing its tears on the unsuspecting earth-bound people. She shook the dream away. She had a lot of work to do. Today she was going to some village called Old Mill, record some events, ask around about the people. She didn't know why she chose that place. The report she was making required her to scout around for a special place. That place just jumped out of the map, stood out among the listed vacation areas. It just called her. But she didn't know why. So she gave in, maybe hoping for some answers on that topic. Not expecting anything really. But if she did find something....

* * *

Zick was in bed, shivering.

"What's the matter, son?" his father asked, appearing beside him.

They looked at each other, both of them direly requiring an answer.

Zick smiled at the window. "I guess it's just a dream," he told it, watching how the rain made the outside world look blurred and unreal. "I had a dream," he trailed away.

"You wanna tell me about it?" probed his father.

"Nah, I'm twenty. I wasn't scared. It was pretty nice, though I can't exactly remember anything." Yes, it was all a dream. Why did he have the sense something was going to be different today? Something about this Friday just screamed "CHANCES!" in his ear. He was a Keeper, it might as well be one of his monsters playing tricks on him. He wasn't scared. Just something said today was special. It wasn't like someone was going to come out of the blue and into his life, not be afraid of him and actually reach out. Be interested. Be friends. That was all he needed, he thought. But those were just voices anyway, he thought again. Just never mind them....

* * *

Yes, maybe his triumph could be more victorious if they were screaming in pain and all, but Magnacat got what he wanted. With their powers he could finish his anti-Dom droid that can easily bring down Bibbur-si. His trick worked, though it could have been better.

He sighed. He wanted to make more evil dreams, more agonizing endings, but what he had was all he needed. They were too simple people. At least they got what they deserved. To carry on in mediocrity. Yes, they just had to keep waiting in the rain for another antagonist with an evil plan to destroy their lives.

****THE END****


End file.
